FOL booking plenty of interest

The Friends of the Conant Public Library continue to remain busy raising money for the library to maintain existing library programs, as well as support new areas.

“We are investing in literacy and culture in our community,” said FOL president Ellen Zanino. “That is how we see our mission.”

They FOL has bought the incentive prizes for the Children’s Summer Reading Program, purchased passes to local cultural attractions such as museums for library patrons to use, and funded the children’s audio book collection, online children’s e-books, children’s DVDs and many more things with money members raise throughout the year.

A big portion of their fundraising happens through events such as their recently held FOL craft fair that brought in more than $2,000, as well as membership dues, donations and profits from the library book store on the lower level. Zanino hopes increased FOL membership will lead to them being able to do even more; their membership fundraising exceeded $5,000 in 2010-11.

“Our library receives well over 4,500 visits per month,” said Zanino. “Visitors benefit from an impressive array of services made possible through [the FOL’s] generous support.”

Their number of FOL members has increased from 32 to 176 over the past year due in part to an invitation that was sent out to nearly 200 former FOL members; also, a 700-piece mailing was conveyed to households on streets that have a lot of library users, and families.

“We want to continue to build [our] membership, and work on spending the money we have,” Zanino said. “We raised a lot of money this year, and we are looking at library programs that would best benefit from our funds and where to best allocate our resources.”

One of the incentives of becoming a member is a new program for FOL members that was introduced last year – they added a business partnership program in which local businesses offer discounts and coupons to Friends.

“People are really excited about this; it helps offset the cost of the membership,” said Zanino; basic membership is just $15 per year, and there are other tiers, too. “We welcome additional businesses that want to participate.”

Zanino has a lot of hands to help her with the FOL programs and fundraisers, but there are always more that are needed. The FOL committee members include Zanino; Friends craft fair managers Suzi Camire, Lisa Call and Mary Correa; treasurer Paula Fogerty; membership director Dotty Kormeluk; board members Marian Mahar and Alison Ripa; and book store director Christine Smith.

To become a Friend of the Conant Public Library, volunteer, or for more information, contact Ellen Zanino by email at ellenzanino@yahoo.com or 978-422- 8283.